Stalk pickup apparatus for harvesters

ABSTRACT

A stalk pickup for a harvester for harvesting ear laden stalks of corn and the like which have fallen. The present stalk pickup is driven from a transverse horizontal shaft and provides for supporting, in cantilever relation, a plurality of conveyor chains having outstanding lugs thereon, with a chain immediately above the respective snouts of the harvester so that the ear bearing stalks will be picked up and engaged between the lower reach of the cantilever supported chain and the upper face of the snout so that the stalk will move upward at a slightly greater speed than the speed at which the harvester moves over the terrain, with the lower reach of each of the chains moving in the opposite direction to the movement of the harvester over the terrain. Spaced apart polygonal discs, having sharp pointed cutting blades on certain corners, are mounted on the horizontal shaft and rotatable therewith, which serve to cut stalks to prevent entanglement of the stalks with the machinery. Spiral conveyors are provided on each outer snout to direct the stalks upward and inward into the harvester.

United States Patent [72] inventors Ernest F. Sammann Rte. 4, Box 73;Walter W. Jackson, Rte. 4, box 102, both of Dimmitt, Tex. 79027 [21}Appl. No. 820,478

[22] Filed Apr. 30, 1969 [45] Patented June 15, 1971 [54] STALK PICKUPAPPARATUS FOR HARVESTERS 10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

s21 U.S.Cl. 56/119 511 Int.Cl ..A01d45/02 50 FieldofSearch 56/15,16,

l7,l8,60,6l,95,98,105, 106, 109, 110,111, 119,317,502

Primary Examiner-Antonio F. Guida Attorney-Wayland D. Keith ABSTRACT: Astalk pickup for a harvester for harvesting ear laden stalks of corn andthe like which have fallen. The present stalk pickup is driven from atransverse horizontal shaft and provides for supporting, in cantileverrelation, a plurality of conveyor chains having outstanding lugsthereon, with a chain immediately above the respective shouts of theharvester so that the ear bearing stalks will be picked up and engagedbetween the lower reach of the cantilever supported chain and the upperface of the snout so that the stalk will move upward at a slightlygreater speed than the speed at which the harvester moves over theterrain, with the lower reach of each of the chains moving in theopposite direction to the movement of the harvester over the terrain.Spaced apart polygonal discs, having sharp pointed cutting blades oncertain corners, are mounted on the horizontal shaft and rotatabletherewith, which serve to cut stalks to prevent entanglement of thestalks with the machinery. Spiral conveyors are provided on each outersnout to direct the stalks upward and inward into the harvester.

PATENTEUJUHiSIHTI 35 4 4414 SHEET 2 BF 3 FIG. 2 2o Q l 28 3o ERNEST r:SAMMANN P WALTER w JACKSON I; NVENTOR.

PATENTEUJUNISIHYI 3,584,444

SHEET 3 [IF 3 ERNEST E SAMMANN WALTER W JACKSON INVENTOR.

397g 9% W AGENT STALK PICKUP APPARATUS FOR HARVESTERS This inventionrelates to improvements in stalk pickup apparatus for harvesters andmore particularly to stalk pickup for grain harvesters, such as corn andthe like.

Various s alk pickup devices have been proposed heretofore, but these,for the most part, were for headed-type grains, such as milo maize,kafir corn, sorghum, however, the head of these stalks are at the top ornear the top thereof and a chain or belt with upstanding projectionsthereon would lift the head end of the stalk sufficiently to enable thestalk to be passed through a cutting sickle, whereas, ear corn usuallyhas the ears thereof approximately midway of the length of the cornstalkand when the upper portion of the stalk is elevated, the portion of thestalk on which the ears are located is not necessarily elevated.

It is desirable to lift cornstalks having ears thereon, so that thestalk and the ears thereon will be conveyed upward in a confinedrelation by the conveyor until the stalk is drawn between snapping rollsor is severed below the ear to direct the ear into the harvester. If thestalk should become broken between the ear and the ground, the ear orears thereon are usually lost.

The present harvester for fallen stalks is so designed that it may beattached to various harvesters for harvesting corn and other crops whichuse corn snapping rolls or cutting sickles, with a minimum of alterationto the harvester.

An object of this invention is to provide a pickup apparatus forharvesters that will pick up fallen corn stalks and the like and movethese upwardly along an incline of the snout in confined relation toenable the stalks of corn to be passed between snapping rolls or cutwith a sickle and ears of corn directed into the thresher for threshingof the corn.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stalk pickup attachmentfor a corn harvester that will direct the corn up to corn snapping rollsor onto a sickle and thence into a conveyor, and wherein long andentangled stalks are severed to enable the ready handling of the stalksand ears of corn thereon into the corn harvester.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a spiral augerpickup arrangement for lifting fallen stalks, with a kicker elementbeing provided thereon to kick the ears of ear laden stalks inwardtoward the snapping rolls or sickle and thence onto the conveyor toenable the proper threshing and disposition of the threshed corn.

With these objects in mind, and others which will become manifest as thedescription proceeds, reference is to be had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts in theseveral views thereof, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational, perspective view ofa harvester, such asused for harvesting corn and the like, and showing the stalk pickupdevice mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, longitudinal sectional view taken on line 2-2 ofFIG. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, perspective view of a portion of theattachment for picking up fallen stalks and showing the mechanismassociated therewith, including an adjusting device to raise and lowerthe conveyor with respect to the surface over which it operates; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary, perspective view, with parts broken away andshown in section, of a spiral auger pickup conveyor mounted on each sideof the harvester and showing a kicker element at the upper end of thespiral screw conveyor to move the ears of corn inward into the cornharvester.

With more detailed reference to the drawings, the numeral 1 designatesgenerally a self-propelled harvester, such as used for harvesting com.This harvester is of the character that generally uses snapping rolls Rto draw the stalk therethrough to remove the ears therefrom and conveysthe ears of corn thereinto and threshes the corn, and separates thethreshed kernels from the stalks and other residual material and directsthe threshed corn into a suitable bin.

The harvester has three forwardly extending snout portions 2 whichpasses downward between the four crop rows, with a snout portion 4 ateach outer side of the outer rows so as to direct the stalks betweenconventional gathering chains 6 and snapping rolls R on each side offorwardly extending snouts 2 and on the inner side of snout 4.

Each of the snouts 2 has a strip of material 8 positioned medially alongthe upper surface of each forwardly extending snout 2, which materialmay be of wood, plastic or other suitable material to prevent wear onthe upper surface of the respective snouts 2. It is preferable to havethe lower ends I0 of strips 8 tapered so that the stalks will slidethereonto and therealong. The strips 8 are held in place by bolts 12.

A support frame 14 extends forwardly from transverse shaft 16 and isjournaled thereon. The frame 14 is supported in cantilever relation aspaced distance above strips 8 by an upstanding U-shaped member orsupport means 18, which member has a pivot bolt 20 passing therethroughnear the outer end thereof to pivotally attach a hollow linkage member22. The hollow linkage member has a screw-threaded nut 24 weldablysecured to the end thereof remote from pivot bolt 20 so as to threadablyreceive a screw 26, which screw has a crank 32 on the outer end thereof.The screw 26 is mounted in slot 28 in bracket 30, so as to hold thescrew against longitudinal movement with respect to the bracket 30, whenthe crank 32 is turned. In this manner the cantilever frame may beraised and lowered, to secure the desired adjustment.

A support member 34 is secured to and extends downward from the end ofeach cantilever beam 14 adjacent shaft 16. A sprocket or transmissiondrive means 36 is fixedly secured on shaft 16 and rotates therewith. Asprocket or transmission idles means 38 is journaled near the distal endof each cantilever bean 14 and a sprocket 40 is journaled near the lowerend of each support member 34, which sprockets lie in an upright planeto enable an endless conveyor chain or transmission means 42 to surroundthe sprockets 36, 38 and 40 in operative relation. Each cantilever beam14 has an adjustable portion 15 thereon so as to compensate for wear ofthe endless conveyor chain 42.

Each cantilever beam 14 has plates 14A, one which plate is secured toeach side thereof so as to shield the portion of the endless conveyorchains 42 from stalks, from a point near sprocket 36 to a point near thelower end thereof. It is preferable to have the ends of these platestapered so that the corn, which is standing upright, will pass therebywithout being engaged by outstanding lugs 44.

The shaft 16 is journaled in bearings 17 on the harvester l and issupported above the upper ends of snouts 2 and 4. A pulley 16A ismounted on one end of the shaft 16 and is connected in driving relationwith a source of power, such as a drive pulley 168, by an endless belt16C.

The endless conveyor chain 42 has outstanding lugs 44 thereon, each ofwhich lugs has a flattened face 46 on the lead side thereof, so theouter ends of the lugs 44 of chain 42 may be positioned a spaceddistance above the upper face of strips 8 and to lie in a plane parallelthereto, so, as the chain moves in the direction indicated by the arrow,FIG. 2, stalks of corn or the like, such as indicated at 48, which arebeing lifted by theforward ends of the snouts 2 and 4 are moved upwardonto the upper faces of strips 8 and pass between the respective stripsand the lower side of the lower reach of the endless conveyor chain 42and are confined between lugs 44, as indicated in FIG. 2.

With the stalks 48 confined between the endless conveyor chain 22 andthe upper surface of strips of material 8, and with the chain 42operating at a slightly greater lineal speed than the speed at which ofthe harvester moves across the terrain, the stalks 48 will be raised upand moved along the strips 8 and directed into a conveyor casing 50, inwhich a spiral conveyor 52, or other suitable type conveyor, ispositioned, to convey ears of the ear laden stalks of corn into theinlet feed opening of the thresher mechanism (not shown).

Mounted on shaft 16 and rotatable therewith are polygonal discs 56,which are preferably formed of transversely separable halves, whichhalves are separated along a line 58, with a half-clamp member 60 weldedto each half of each polygonal disc, with the clamp members being fittedtogether as shown in FIG. 3. When the half-clamp members arecomplementally fitted together around shaft 16, bolts 62 bindinglyengage these clamp members 60 to shaft 16. lt is preferable to have thepolygonal discs 56 joined together at the periphery as by bolts 64passing through clips 66, the outer point 681 of which clips serve as astalk cutting blade, upon rotation of these polygonal discs. The stalksthat gather on the upper ends of snouts 2 and 4 are cut so that thestalks and ears of corn will pass into the conveyor without clogging themechanism.

The shaft 16 has a bevel gear 16D fixedly secured thereto and rotatabletherewith to drive a companion bevel gear or pinion 165 which is mountedon and secured to each screw conveyor shaft 70. Each screw conveyorshaft 70 is mounted in bearings 72 and 74 at the top and lower end onthe outer side of each of the snouts 4, so upon rotation of shafts 70,spiral screw conveyors 76 and 78, which have right and left screwconvolutions, urge any fallen stalks upward along the inclined surfaces80 of snouts 4 until the ear laden stalks of corn reach kickers 82 and84 at the upper end of conveyors 76 and 78, which kickers will hurl theears of corn inward on the gathering chains 6, while the corn stalkswill pass between conventional snapping rolls R. The ears of corn willpass inward on gathering chains 6 into the conveyor 52 for threshing inthe corn harvester in a manner well known in the art of corn harvesters.

While the present attachment has been described somewhat with the cornharvester using snapping rolls, it is to be pointed out that this is fora matter of illustration and that the present device operates equally aswell with a harvester using a conventional sickle, whether gathering earcorn, milo maize, kafir corn, sorghum, or other upstanding grain cropswhich have grain on the stalk.

Having thus clearly shown and described the invention, what we claim asnew and desire to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a combination with a harvester, which harvester has forwardlyextending snouts to engage fallen stalks, which snouts pass between croprows to perform a harvesting operatron;

a. a transverse shaft mounted on the harvester and being connected indriven relation with a source of power,

b. longitudinally spaced apart drive means mounted on said transverseshaft, which drive means lies in an upright plane which passeslongitudinally through certain of said forwardly extending snoutsintermediate the width thereof,

c. support frames journaled on said transverse shaft of the harvesterand extending approximately parallel to the upper side of certain ofsaid forwardly extending snouts, l. adjustment means associated witheach said support frame and with the harvester to support said supportframes, in cantilever relation, throughout the length thereof, above theupper sides of certain of said forwardly extending snouts,

d. a transmission idler means rotatably mounted on each said frame nearthe outer end thereof,

e. an elongated, flexible, endless transmission means lying in therespective upright planes of said drive means and said transmissionidler means and passing therearound and being in driven relationtherewith and supported above certain of said snouts,

l. the lower reach of each said elongated, flexible transmission meansadapted to move in the opposite direction from the line of travel ofsaid harvester the greater portion of the length of the snout with whicheach transmission means is associated,

f. outwardly extending lugs on the exterior side of said elongated,flexible transmission means,

I. certain of said forwardly extending snouts have an imperforate,longitudinal strip mounted thereon on the upper side thereof, whichstrips are positioned below the lower ends of said lugs on the lowerreach of said elongated, flexible, transmission means, which stripsextend the greater portion of the length of the respective snouts topresent a slidable surface, and

2. said lugs on the lower reach of the transmission means pass in closeproximity to the upper face of the slidable surface of certain of saidimperforate, longitudinal strips on certain of said upwardly extendingsnouts to bindingly engage stalks, of the crop being harvested, betweenthe upper slidable surface of said imperforate, longitudinal strips andthe endless transmission means to enable the stalks to slide upward,when said transmission means is moved relative to the imperforate,longitudinal strips.

2. In combination with a harvester, which harvester has forwardlyextending snouts to engage fallen stalks, as defined in claim 1; whereina. said elongated, spaced apart drive means, which are mounted on saidtransverse shaft, are sprockets,

b. said transmission idler means, which are rotatably mounted on saidframe near the outer end thereof, are sprockets, and

c. said elongated flexible, endless transmission means, which surroundeach said drive means and each said idler means, is a chain.

3. ln combination with a harvester, which harvester has forwardlyextending snouts to engage fallen stalks, as defined in claim 2; whereina. said support frame, mounted on the harvester, has a member securedthereto and extending downwardly therefrom,

b. a sprocket mounted in journaled relation near the lower end of saiddownwardly extending member, and

c. each said endless transmission chain, which passes around each saiddrive sprocket and each said idler sprocket on said support frame,passes around each said sprocket journaled near the lower end of eachsaid downwardly extending member so as to maintain the lower reach ofeach said endless transmission chain substantially parallel to the upperface of certain of said snouts.

4. In combination with a harvester, which harvester has forwardlyextending snouts to engage fallen stalks, as defined in claim 1; whereina. an upstanding member is secured to said support frame adjacent saidtransverse shaft, and

b. adjustment means is secured to said upstanding member near the distalend thereof and to the harvester to support said outwardly extendingsupport frame in cantilever relation with respect to the upper surfaceof certain of the forwardly extending snouts.

5. In combination with a harvester, which harvester has forwardlyextending snouts to engage fallen stalks, one end of which is rooted inthe ground, as defined in claim 4; wherein a. an upstanding member issecured to said support frame adjacent said transverse shaft, and

b. said adjustment means, connected to said upstanding member near theouter end thereof and to the harvester, includes a crank and screwmechanism to adjust the support frame to control the spacing between thelower ends of said lugs on the lower reach of said elongated, flexible,endless transmission means and the imperforate strips mounted on theupper face of certain of the forwardly extending snouts.

6. In combination with a harvester, which harvester has forwardlyextending snouts to engage fallen stalks, as defined in claim 5; whereina. said upstanding member, journaled on said transverse shaft, is aU-shaped member straddling said elongated, flexible, endlesstransmission means, and 1. said adjustment means is connected with saidU-shaped member near the outer end thereof.

7. In combination with a harvester, which harvester has forwardlyextending snouts to engage fallen stalks, as defined in claim 1; whereina. said imperforate, longitudinal strips are wood strips.

8. In combination with a harvester, which harvester has forwardlyextending snouts to engage fallen stalks, as defined in claim I; whereina. said imperforate, longitudinal strips are plastic strips.

9. In combination with a harvester having at least one forwardlyextending snout to perform a harvesting operation;

a. A transverse shaft mounted on the harvester and being connected indriven relation with a source of power,

b. drive means connected to said transverse shaft,

c. a support frame mounted on the harvester and lying in an uprightplane above the upper side of said forwardly extending snout, whichplane passes longitudinally through said snout,

I. a strip mounted on the upper face of certain of said snouts mediallythereof and extending for a portion of the length thereof,

2. means mounted on the harvester to support said support frame in saidupright plane above the upper side of said forwardly extending snout,

d. transmission idler means mounted on said support frame near the outerend thereof,

e. an elongated, flexible, endless transmission means lying in saidupright plane and surrounding said transmission drive means and saidtransmission idler means and being engaged therewith in operativerelation,

1. the lower reach of said elongated, flexible, endless transmissionmeans being adapted to move along said strip on the upper face of saidforwardly extending snout in the opposite direction from the line oftravel of the harvester, and

f. outwardly extending lugs on the exterior side of said elongated,flexible, endless transmission means, which are adapted to bindinglyengage the stalks and the like being harvested with the upper surface ofsaid strip when said transmission drive means is moved longitudinallywith respect to said strip mounted on said forwardly extending snout.

10. In combination with a harvester, which harvester has forwardlyextending snouts to engage fallen stalks, which snouts pass between croprows to perform a harvesting operation;

a. a transverse shaft mounted on the harvester and being connected indriven relation with a source of power,

b. opposed, angulated spiral conveyors mounted on the outer side of therespective outer-most snouts of the harvester and extending therealongin close proximity with respect thereto,

1. an axial shaft associated with each said angulated,

spiral conveyor,

c. bearings journaling said shafts of said angulated, spiral conveyorsnear each end thereof,

d. an elongated web near the upper end of each angulated, spiralconveyor to form a kicker to direct stalks and grain inward, uponrotation of said angulated spiral conveyors,

e. drive means associated with the upper ends of said conveyor shaftsand with said transverse shaft, for rotating said angulated spiralconveyors,

f. longitudinally spaced apart drive means mounted on said transverseshaft, which drive means lie in an upright plane which passeslongitudinally through certain of the forwardly extending snoutsintermediate the width thereof,

g. support frames journaled on said transverse shaft of the harvesterand extending approximately parallel to the upper side of certain ofsaid forwardly extending snouts, I, adjustment means associated witheach said support frame and with the harvester, to support said supportframes above the upper sides of certain of the forwardly extendingsnouts,

h. a transmission idler means rotatably mounted on each said frame nearthe outer end thereof, I. an elongated, flexible, endless transmissionmeans lying In the respective upright planes of said drive means andsaid transmission idler means, and passing therearound and being indriven relation therewith and supported above certain of the snouts,

l. the lower reach of said elongated, flexible transmission means beingmovable in the opposite direction from the line of travel of theharvester the greater portion of the length of the snout with which eachtransmission means is associated, and

j. outwardly extending lugs on the exterior side of said elongated,flexible transmission means, which lugs, on the lower reach of thetransmission means, pass in close proximity to the upper face of certainof the forwardly extending snouts, to bindingly engage the stalks of thecrop being harvested between the upper face of the snout and the endlesstransmission means to move the stalks upward, when said transmissionmeans is moved relative to the respective snouts.

1. In a combination with a harvester, which harvester has forwardlyextending snouts to engage fallen stalks, which snouts pass between croprows to perform a harvesting operation; a. a transverse shaft mounted onthe harvester and being connected in driven relation with a source ofpower, b. longitudinally spaced apart drive means mounted on saidtransverse shaft, which drive means lies in an upright plane whichpasses longitudinally through certain of said forwardly extending snoutsintermediate the width thereof, c. support frames journaled on saidtransverse shaft of the harvester and extending approximately parallelto the upper side of certain of said forwardly extending snouts, 1.adjustment means associated with each said support frame and with theharvester to support said support frames, in cantilever relation,throughout the length thereof, above the upper sides of certain of saidforwardly extending snouts, d. a transmission idler means rotatablymounted on each said frame near the outer end thereof, e. an elongated,flexible, endless transmission means lying in the respective uprightplanes of said drive means and said transmission idler means and passingtherearound and being in driven relation therewith and supported abovecertain of said snouts,
 1. the lower reach of each said elongated,flexible transmission means adapted to move in the opposite directionfrom the line of travel of said harvester the greater portion of thelength of the snout with which each transmission means is associated, f.outwardly extending lugs on the exterior side of said elongated,flexible transmission means,
 1. certain of said forwardly extendingsnouts have an imperforate, longitudinal strip mounted thereon on theupper side thereof, which strips are positioned below the lower ends ofsaid lugs on the lower reach of said elongated, flexible, transmissionmeans, which strips extend the greater portion of the length of therespective snouts to present a slidable surface, and
 2. said lugs on thelower reach of the transmission means pass in close proximity to theupper face of the slidable surface of certain of said imperforate,longitudinal strips on certain of said upwardly extending snouts tobindingly engage stalks, of the crop being harvested, between the upperslidable surface of said imperforate, longitudinal strips and theendless transmission means to enable the stalks to slide upward, whensaid transmission means is moved relative to the imperforate,longitudinal strips.
 2. said lugs on the lower reach of the transmissionmeans pass in close proximity to the upper face of the slidable surfaceof certain of said imperforate, longitudinal strips on certain of saidupwardly extending snouts to bindingly engage stalks, of the crop beingharvested, between the upper slidable surface of said imperforate,longitudinal strips and the endless transmission means to enable thestalks to slide upward, when said transmission means is moved relativeto the imperforate, longitudinal strips.
 2. In combination with aharvester, which harvester has forwardly extending snouts to engagefallen stalks, as defined in claim 1; wherein a. said elongated, spacedapart drive means, which are mounted on said transverse shaft, aresprockets, b. said transmission idler means, which are rotatably mountedon said frame near the outer end thereof, are sprockets, and c. saidelongated flexible, endless transmission means, which surround each saiddrive means and each said idler means, is a chain.
 2. means mounted onthe harvester to support said support frame in said upright plane abovethe upper side of said forwardly extending snout, d. transmission idlermeans mounted on said support frame near the outer end thereof, e. anelongated, flexible, endless transmission means lying in said uprightplane and surrounding said transmission drive means and saidtransmission idler means and being engaged therewith in operativerelation,
 3. In combination with a harvester, which harvester hasforwardly extending snouts to engage fallen stalks, as defined in claim2; wherein a. said support frame, mounted on the harvester, has a membersecured thereto and extending downwardly therefrom, b. a sprocketmounted in journaled relation near the lower end of said downwardlyextending member, and c. each said endless transmission chain, whichpasses around each said drive sprocket and each said idler sprocket onsaid support frame, passes aRound each said sprocket journaled near thelower end of each said downwardly extending member so as to maintain thelower reach of each said endless transmission chain substantiallyparallel to the upper face of certain of said snouts.
 4. In combinationwith a harvester, which harvester has forwardly extending snouts toengage fallen stalks, as defined in claim 1; wherein a. an upstandingmember is secured to said support frame adjacent said transverse shaft,and b. adjustment means is secured to said upstanding member near thedistal end thereof and to the harvester to support said outwardlyextending support frame in cantilever relation with respect to the uppersurface of certain of the forwardly extending snouts.
 5. In combinationwith a harvester, which harvester has forwardly extending snouts toengage fallen stalks, one end of which is rooted in the ground, asdefined in claim 4; wherein a. an upstanding member is secured to saidsupport frame adjacent said transverse shaft, and b. said adjustmentmeans, connected to said upstanding member near the outer end thereofand to the harvester, includes a crank and screw mechanism to adjust thesupport frame to control the spacing between the lower ends of said lugson the lower reach of said elongated, flexible, endless transmissionmeans and the imperforate strips mounted on the upper face of certain ofthe forwardly extending snouts.
 6. In combination with a harvester,which harvester has forwardly extending snouts to engage fallen stalks,as defined in claim 5; wherein a. said upstanding member, journaled onsaid transverse shaft, is a U-shaped member straddling said elongated,flexible, endless transmission means, and
 7. In combination with aharvester, which harvester has forwardly extending snouts to engagefallen stalks, as defined in claim 1; wherein a. said imperforate,longitudinal strips are wood strips.
 8. In combination with a harvester,which harvester has forwardly extending snouts to engage fallen stalks,as defined in claim 1; wherein a. said imperforate, longitudinal stripsare plastic strips.
 9. In combination with a harvester having at leastone forwardly extending snout to perform a harvesting operation; a. Atransverse shaft mounted on the harvester and being connected in drivenrelation with a source of power, b. drive means connected to saidtransverse shaft, c. a support frame mounted on the harvester and lyingin an upright plane above the upper side of said forwardly extendingsnout, which plane passes longitudinally through said snout,
 10. Incombination with a harvester, which harvester has forwardly extendingsnouts to engage fallen stalks, which snouts pass between crop rows toperform a harvesting operation; a. a transverse shaft mounted on theharvester and being connected in driven relation with a source of power,b. opposed, angulated spiral conveyors mounted on the outer side of therespective outer-most snouts of the harvester and extending therealongin close proximity with respect thereto,